Ill Effects
by SilentOne101
Summary: Second part to my trilogy that includes "The Broken Flower Pot". Duo is trying to cope, Heero attacks Trowa, and to top things off Dorothy comes to invade Duo's life. I can't really explain it very well, so please just R&R! Thanks!
1. Prologue

Title: Ill Effects  
Rating: R  
Pairings: 2Dorothy (more friends than anything), 3x4 (implied)  
Warnings: Angst, probably some citris, language Spoilers: Not that I know if yet Disclaimers: I don't own them, and I don't make any money off of them. I owe about the next ten years of my life to about three different banks...so please don't sue me!  
A/N: This story was actually going to be called "A Sickening Deal," but I find that "Ill Effects" sounds so much better than that. This is the second installment of the trilogy I've been working on, the first part being "The Broken Flower Pot." For those of you that have been anxiously waiting for me to continue, I am so sorry it took so long! This story will take me a long time to write, partly because this one is actually the hardest to write and then I have absolutely no time to write! So forgive the slowness, but hopefull it's worth it! On with the fic! (And please, R&R!)  
  
Trowa sat in the main trailor, carefully applying eyeliner to his left eye. All around him, the other members of the Troupe were laughing and joking as they also got ready for that night's performance. He watched one of the acrobats kiss one of the dancers, and the corners of his lips turned up. Quatre would be at the performance tonight.  
  
"Hey! Come on! I was joking!" Someone yelled, laughing. Trowa glanced at who it was, and another smile flickered across his features as Pedro, his Latin Lion Tamer, tried unsuccessfully to pull his girlfriend into a hug. But as she walked away, her head held high, Trowa could see the workings of a smile on her face.  
  
"Hello Trowa." Trowa gulped. He had not heard that voice in over three months, since Wufei's death. Trowa slowly turned to face the man standing there, his face a mask covering all of the emotions, none of them happy.  
  
"Hello Heero. What brings you to the Circus?" Heero shrugged, a move still unfamiliar on the soldier's body, and he leaned against the counter top.  
  
"I heard you were in town, so I thought I'd check it out. Why?" Heero's voice was accusing. "Aren't you happy to see me?" He seemed to be mocking Trowa, but Trowa wouldn't rise to the bait.  
  
"You should go get a seat. We fill up pretty fast here." Heero chuckled, and touched the rim of Trowa's drinking glass.  
  
"Well, then, if you say so." Heero pushed himself away from the counter and walked out of the trailor, a smug smile on his features. Trowa frowned after he left, and he took a sip of his water. After he swallowed, he made a face and put his glass back down.  
  
"The pipes must be rusted." He muttered, looking into the glass. He swirled the water around, studying to see if there was anything foreign in it.  
  
"Hey Trowa! Come on! The show is going to start and we're up second!" Trowa nodded, and put his glass down, planning to study it once he got back. something wasn't right...  
  
-----  
  
Duo sat at the front desk of the Shipping Yard, a stack of papers in front of him and a radio blasting some punk rock song in the background. He casually filled out some of the information on the paperwork, but he really wasn't paying any attention to what he was writing.  
  
"Wufei..." The name came out of his mouth before he could even remember thinking it, and the moment he said it, his heart plummeted. Even though three months had passed since his love's death, the pain was still very new.  
  
"Duo, are you in here?" The sweet, almost child-like voice of Hilde came through the front door, and Duo said a soft 'Hai' to give her the head's up.  
  
She came in, and the moment she saw his face, the smile on her own faltered and she sighed quietly. "Duo, I... You can't just do this to yourself all the time!" She yelled, throwing the brown bag she was carrying on the desktop. "I worry about you, you know!" Duo shrugged, standing.  
  
"I miss him, Hilde, there's nothing more to it. I don't think I'll be able to get over it so quickly." He looked up, a glazing of tears in his eyes that refused to fall. "I loved him, and I will always love him. Nothing will ever change that, not even his...death." Even after so long, he still had trouble saying that word. Hilde sighed, and she started to pick up some of the things that fell out of the bag when it hit the desk.  
  
"You need to try, Duo, there's nothing more to it." She started to leave the room when it seemed she remembered something. "Duo?"  
  
"Yeah?" He asked, his face bland.  
  
"Do you know a Dorothy Catalonia?" Duo frowned.  
  
"Yeah...Why?" Not that he wanted to remember her. Wufei had always spoken highly of her when he had missions to complete with her. And although Duo knew Wufei held no feelings other than friendship for the blonde mastermind, he mentally admitted that there were times when he was severely jealous of her.  
  
"No reason, really. She's just waiting outside to talk to you." Hilde left the room before Duo could explode at her. Duo, on the other hand, was more perplexed than anything as to Dorothy's appearance.  
  
"Great...She's probably here to give her condolences or something..." He mumbled as he walked out to the front of the building, seeing the woman playing with a rose. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, and she turned, her long skirt flowing around her, and a large, if not honest smile coming across her face.  
  
"Duo! It has been ages! How are you?"  
  
-----  
  
Trowa let go of the trapeze and landed gracefully on the small platform attached to the forty foot pole. He bowed to both sides of the tent, his eyes landing on the small blonde head that seemed completely glued to him. The corners of his lips lifted a bit, and he tilted his head a bit to tell Quatre that he acknowledged him.  
  
Music floated up from below, and Trowa took several steps out on the tightrope, his focus on everything around him more so than on the tightrope. He had done this routine for almost a year, he could practically do it in his sleep.  
  
Then he saw it, or rather, him. Standing in the shadows of the hidden alcove where the other end of the tightrope was held. Trowa's heart stopped when he saw the metal flash in the light, the glint on Heero's teeth as he smiled evilly.  
  
"It's your turn Trowa, if not now then later." Trowa tried to move backwards on the rope, but his eyes were riveted on Heero and his movements, and he couldn't move. Heero bent down and pressed the blade against the rope. "But believe me, my friend, I will do anything possible to make it right now."  
  
He felt it as Heero cut through the rope, felt the end go slack and refuse to hold his weight. He could hear the screams as all of the audience saw the rope fall, then he heard the frantic movements of his Troupe as they tried to gather beneath him to break his fall.  
  
But he was one step ahead in this, and his hand tightened around the rope he had been able to grab. But the momentum of him falling had him hitting the pole hard, and Trowa could feel blackness claiming him. But it wasn't death, he noted, just darkness.  
  
He stayed concious enough to lower himself as much as possible before members of the Troupe were able to get to him, Quatre being right there as well. Trowa raised a finger and touched the tearstain that marked the blonde's light-colored cheek.  
  
"Qua...tre...b-b-b....-reful." He was able to mumble out before he went completely limp, Quatre's hand pressing to Trowa's forehead. And although Quatre couldn't hear what Trowa had said, he knew exactly what he meant.  
  
"I will, Trowa. Just come back to me."

-----

a/n: I hope you liked it...it was definitely hard to write. Any feedback could influence me, so please rememer to R&R!! Thanks!

SilentOne


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Ill Effects part 1  
Rating: R  
Pairings: 2xDorothy (more friends than anything), 3x4 (implied)  
Warnings: Angst, probably some citrus, language  
Spoilers: Not that I know if yet  
Disclaimers: I don't own them, and I don't make any money off of them. I owe about the next ten years of my life to about three different banks...so please don't sue me!  
A/N: This story was actually going to be called "A Sickening Deal," but I find that "Ill Effects" sounds so much better than that. This is the second installment of the trilogy I've been working on, the first part being "The Broken Flower Pot." For those of you that have been anxiously waiting for me to continue, I am so sorry it took so long! This story will take me a long time to write, partly because this one is actually the hardest to write and then I have absolutely no time to write! So forgive the slowness, but hopefully it's worth it! On with the fic! (And please, R&R!)

"So what are you doing here, Dorothy?" Duo's voice held a lack of emotion, its tone dry and bored. Dorothy sighed melodramatically, as if she had actually been miffed by Duo's poor attitude, and she wandered over until she was standing directly in front of him.

"Must I have a specific reason for coming to see you?" Duo frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes." He wasn't about to fall into her little mind games. She was here for a purpose, and he was going to find out what it was. She seemed to see the way his jaw was set stubbornly, the way his posture told her that he wasn't going anywhere until she spoke her piece, and she smiled a truly cold smile. She was never one for being polite, anyway.

"To be truly and bluntly honest with you, Mr. Maxwell, I have come to ask a favor of you." Duo's eyes widened minimally, although inside his mental jaw dropped and he was gaping at her as if she'd grown another head and it was singing Frank Sinatra. "You see, after Wufei's...death...I have come to find myself without a partner." Well, that's stating the obvious, he thought to himself.

"And so you came here to..." He motioned with his hand for her to continue when it looked as if she wanted him to just assume what she was going to say. She frowned at him and set her hands on her hips.

"On most of my missions, I am all right going solo. It is just on some missions, I require a partner who at least knows which way to point a gun if I happen to say 'aim.' The rookies that are still coming in have me cringing at their soft-spoken techniques." She visually cringed, and Duo could agree with her on this. The new peace was all about no weaponry and 'talking.' In an all out battle between people, there was no such thing. The new recruits into Preventer's didn't understand this.

"So you have come here to proposition me, I assume? You want me to become the partner Wufei was in order for you to complete your mission." Duo's voice was still dry, but he could see she was actually anxious about his answer.

"Yes, Duo, I am propositioning an agreement, of sorts." In a heartbeat, Dorothy's mask had fallen, and underneath was a tired twenty-year old who wanted someone she could trust at her back. In another instant, however, her masks were back in place and Duo was stuck wondering whether what he'd witnessed had been real or just a figment of his imagination. "I need to be able to count on you to be there if I need you."

Duo pondered this for several moments. On the plus side, he would be going on missions to help occupy his mind away from what he had lost. On the other hand, he'd be, in essence, replacing Wufei, and that thought did not appeal to Duo in the least. Dorothy could see his indecision, and she spoke fast to ease Duo's mind.

"He would want you to do this, you know. He would want you to move on, and let him go. You are allowed to move on, Duo. He wouldn't want it any other way." Her face was impassive, but her voice was lighter than normal. For Dorothy, it could even pass as soft-spoken, although Duo doubted she had ever kept her voice quiet enough to come even close to that term.

"How long do I have to think about this?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow. Dorothy seemed to mentally lose her balance, shocked that he was even going to consider it. She must really be desperate, he thought. She had never been this ruffled before, and it was making him almost feel sorry for her. Almost. There was something about running a friend through with a sword that kind of stopped the pity before it became something big.

"How long do you need?"

-----

Quatre sat next to the hospital bed, his hand clasped tightly in the patient's as Quatre tried to mentally wake up his lover. Trowa, however, remained as he was, unconscious and unmoving except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest as a ventilator breathed for him.

"Mr. Winner?" A young woman, probably just starting her nursing rotation, stepped into the room with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. "How are you holding up?" She was probably older than him, he thought. But the years in the war, and the way he acted made him seem older, and she appeared nervous because of it.

"I am fine, thank you." He put on his best innocent smile, trying to make the girl appear at ease. "Did you hear anything from the tests?" She frowned and looked at the clipboard, her lips pursing.

"His vitals are all okay, and his brain waves are completely normal. We still have to wait on the drug tests, but as soon as I get them, I will let you know," She handed him the clipboard. "I need you to sign this, sir. It is an agreement that allows you to make decisions for him should the need arise." She glanced over her shoulder, as if she had been doing something illegal. "I'm not really supposed to be doing this, but I thought that he would rather have you make the decisions, instead of the hospital." Quatre smiled sweetly, kissing her cheek lightly.

"You're an Angel, sweetheart." He signed the paper, both in his signature and in Trowa's so there would be no argument over who made the decision. "Thank you." He handed the clipboard back to the girl and she left the room with a conspiratorial wink. Quatre let out a sigh of relief when she was gone, and he went back to watching Trowa breath. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long until he awoke.

-----

Duo handed the pen back to Dorothy, glaring at the stack of paperwork as if it were the devil himself. He'd just signed his life away to Preventer's, not something he had truly wanted, but something he knew would take his mind off of other things.

"I am so glad you have done this, Mr. Maxwell." Dorothy's voice had changed into that of a schoolgirl with a crush, and Duo shuddered. It was really scary seeing her like that, he thought. How did Relena put up with it during the first war?

"Let's get one thing straight, Dorothy. Under no circumstances, none whatsoever, are you to ever refer to me as 'Mr.' Maxwell. Simply Maxwell, or Duo, is just fine, thanks." Duo said, throwing his braid over his shoulder. "You make me sound older than what I am." He sniffed, and she raised an eyebrow.

"For most twenty-year olds that's a good thing." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You shouldn't even be allowed in Preventer's at age 20."

"But you make exceptions because it's me." He said, pride seeping into his voice. And, for the first time in three months, he smiled a real smile. "You have no other choice," He poked a finger at her shoulder, and Dorothy was momentarily taken aback. Was he cracking a joke? When she didn't say anything, he raised an eyebrow and blinked several times. "You know, when somebody pulls your tail like I just did, most people just shrug it off and laugh. They don't stare at you with a glare to match death."

After a few moments, Dorothy lightened up a little bit, although she still didn't laugh. It would take some time to get used to Maxwell's joking, she was sure about that. That was the difference between him and Wufei, if she remembered correctly. Where Wufei's sense of humor was rather dry, Duo was open and frank with his humor.

Yes, a long time to get used to a whole new partner, she thought. But this time...yes, this time she would have a little help. Help in the form of another pilot just waiting for the right moment...

-----

Heero watched the whole transaction between Duo and Dorothy from behind a building, his excellent hearing picking up on some phrases. A smirk crossed his features and he mentally ticked off another part of his list. A new game had begun, and the first move had been set. How long would it be this time, he thought, until he got his results?

'Not long,' his mind spoke, 'not long...'

-----

-TBC...

-I hoped you all enjoyed it...sorry it took me so long to get it out. I am suffering through severe writer's block for this story, and I've actually steered it away from the synopsis I wrote for it...so if you decide to send feedback, any ideas on some events that can take place would be wonderful. I am floundering, and I'm not even sure I can continue with it (unless my writer's block suddenly crumbles...which is possible, but highly unlikely at the moment). Anyway, again, feedback adored and loved! Thank you!

SilentOne


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